Formula 1
Has Sainz made the right decision to join Williams? Our F1 writers have their say
Carlos Sainz became the latest done deal in the Formula 1 driver market by signing for Williams – but was it the right call?
Edited: Jul 30, 2024, 3:17 PM
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Carlos Sainz has ended speculation over his Formula 1 future by signing for Williams, with the deal announced on the first day of the summer break.
The three-time F1 race winner has agreed to a multi-year deal to join the Grove-based squad from next year which will take him into the new rules era that starts in 2026.
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The Spaniard had been considered as a key mover in the driver market but with his future solved, focus will turn to other candidates. But has Sainz made the correct choice with Williams?
Here are our writers’ views...
Williams is Sainz’s best, and most realistic, option – Alex Kalinauckas
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, leads Alex Albon, Williams FW46
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
On the surface, it looks like Carlos Sainz’s choice on where to race in Formula 1 2025 came down to no good options.
Williams or Sauber/Audi – the teams currently occupying the last two spots in the 2024 constructors’ championship. Or the outsider, Alpine, which started the season propping up the grid and has endured massive management (overall and technical) turnover of late.
But in picking Williams, there’s plenty of positive signs for Carlos.
First, the pain Williams endured for 2024 in car design delays that meant the current FW46 is significantly overweight surely won’t be repeated. That’s an instant lap time gain for Williams next year, while its current car can score points on occasion and if everything goes perfectly. Sure, it’s not winning races in Ferrari red, but that’s territory the bump-hating Sauber car cannot reach at all right now and is unlikely to be able to manage consistently even with urgent changes given the famously long F1 lead times.
The Sauber/Audi project has also entered management turmoil of its own in recent months, culminating in Sainz’s former team boss at McLaren, Andreas Seidl, being replaced by the man who signed him to Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, before being axed himself.
At Williams, James Vowles continues to impress – and convincing an F1 race winner in Sainz to join the recovery project after much back and forth will have gone down well with the team’s owner, Dorilton Capital.
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: Williams
Red Bull wasn’t an option given Sainz and his family’s past history with the Verstappens, plus the team is seemingly intent on giving Sergio Perez every chance to lose it championships.
At Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s recent Formula 2 wins seem to have just crystalised the idea to promote him. Not that it mattered given the complexities of that junior series, what team boss Toto Wolff saw from its F1 tests and team interaction carried way more weight.
And so, there was just no point in Sainz waiting any longer.
Now he can look forward to racing for a team with a long and storied F1 history, plus momentum in recovering from its 2018-2019 results/performance nadir. Williams will also have the 2026 Mercedes engine many are getting excited about, which effectively elevated it above Alpine in Sainz’s considerations for 2025, given the plan for the Enstone-squad to stop its own engine production and join the customer ranks.
A Sainz-Alex Albon line-up? How polite, intelligent and interesting that is going to be.
Sainz could have waited longer for the music to stop - Ben Hunt
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
The driver transfer market is always a game of musical chairs but as is the very premise of the game, you have to wait for the music to stop before you take a seat.
Which is why it is baffling Carlos Sainz has decided to pull the trigger and sign a deal with Williams heading into the summer break.
As far as I can tell, nothing has changed over the last few weeks to force him to make a decision.
Sure, Williams would be pressing for an answer, as you'd expect to get a driver of Sainz's calibre, but would it really be willing to retract a deal for the Spaniard in favour of Valtteri Bottas who has not scored a point all season?
Sainz was controlling the whole game. In fact, Esteban Ocon parting ways with Alpine opened up another potential for him - the Frenchman joining Oliver Bearman at Haas which was never really an option for Sainz.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, leads Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: Mark Sutton
With so much remaining undecided in the market, I cannot help but feel he has gone too early.
After all, while we are led to believe that Mercedes is too proud to consider signing one of Ferrari's cast-offs, would it really turn down a short-term deal for Sainz should it believe than Andrea Kimi Antonelli was not yet ready for F1?
And what about Red Bull? We now know that it has decided to keep faith in Sergio Perez, but that news came after Sainz had signed his deal. What if Red Bull decided that it did not want either Perez or Daniel Ricciardo next season?
Sainz has taken those options of going top teams off the table and that's even before we have mentioned Alpine and Audi/Sauber.
He was a wanted man and that is a valuable commodity in Formula 1. I just think he should have bided his time a little longer before making his decision. I can only assume that he has been rewarded handsomely. That said, I have no doubt he will be an excellent signing for Williams.
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